Thursday, June 17, 2010

The festival released details on ticketing for the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Prices have generally remained steady from 2009, although the 8-film Visa Screening Room package seems to have dropped a fair bit (the only discernible difference is that the package may include both regular and premium screenings).

Relevant dates for ticketing include:

July 5, 2010: Packages go on sale to Visa cardholders

July 12, 2010: Packages go on sale for Visa, debit, and cash

August 18, 2010: The film list is online

August 24, 2010: The Advance Order Book is available, and the film schedule is online

August 27, 2010: Film Selection Courier Service orders must be returned by 5:00 PM

August 30, 2010: Advance Order Books must be returned before 1:00 PM

September 2, 2010: Pickup and exchange date for advance orders

September 3, 2010: Single tickets available for purchase by Visa, debit, and cash

September 9 - 19, 2010: Festival is on

Note Visa is the only accepted credit card; otherwise you have to pay by cash or debit card.

Before getting into the various ticket options, some additional changes:

The festival is one day longer, ending on Sunday, September 19, instead of on the Saturday.

The definition of a Premium Screening has been refined, although from last year the only change appears to be not including the possibility of a Q&A with either a director or principal cast. All other films are termed Regular Screenings, which may still include an appearance and Q&A by cast and crew.

Once single tickets go on sale, you will be able to add tickets to a shopping cart directly from the film list on the main site. It will be interesting to see how this plays out given the web site performance in previous years.

A new package, called The Canadian, has been added, focusing on 5 Canadian films selected by the festival.

The packages now talk about maximum number of tickets per film, rather than per screening, although if there is a difference, not sure it would be significant for most people.

Now, a breakdown of the ticket options for 2010. A comparison with 2009 is provided in brackets for each option where available. Note if you are a student or senior and want to buy at the discounted price, you must pay in person as you are required to show appropriate ID.

The festival has grouped tickets into one of three options:

Single Tickets: can be bought starting September 3.

My Choice (called You Choose last year): you select films prior to the festival starting, following the Advance Order procedure. The packages must be bought before late August when the Advance Order procedure starts.

TIFF Choice (called Our Programmers Choose last year): the TIFF programmers pre-select films for you. These packages can be bought before or during the festival (while supplies last)

Single Tickets:

Single tickets can be bought starting September 3, 2010, up until the end of the festival. If a screening is sold out, additional tickets will be released at 7:00 AM the day of the screening, and there is the Rush Line for each film as well.

For single tickets, for regular screenings, the cost is $19.69 (was $19.76 in 2009), or $17.04 (was $17.14 in 2009) for students and seniors.

For single tickets, for premium screenings, the cost is $38.27 (was $38.33 in 2009), or $19.03 (was $19.05 in 2009) for students and seniors.

My Choice packages:

Note a single purchaser can purchase a maximum of 100 tickets across all packages bought from this group.

50-Films$524 (was $524.27 in 2009), $444 (was $443.93 in 2009) for students and seniorsSee up to 50 films (maximum of 1 ticket per screening)Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Can participate in the Advance Order Procedure.

30-Films$386 (was $386.25 in 2009), no discount for students and seniorsSee up to 30 films (maximum of 1 ticket per screening)Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Can participate in the Advance Order Procedure.

25-Films Daytime Pack$202 (was $201.88 in 2009), $162 (was $162.23 in 2009) for students and seniorsSee up to 25 films (maximum of 1 ticket per screening, each must start before 5:01 PM).Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Can participate in the Advance Order Procedure.

15-Films Daytime Pack$139 (was $139.05 in 2009), no discount for students and seniorsSee up to 15 films (maximum of 1 ticket per screening, each must start before 5:01 PM).Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Can participate in the Advance Order Procedure.As of 7:43 PM on July 5, 2010, this pack was sold out.

10-Ticket Flex Pack$160 (was $159.14 in 2009), no discount for students and seniorsSee up to 10 films (maximum of 4 tickets per screening, per account).Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Can participate in the Advance Order Procedure.

Student One Day Pass$19.69 (was $19.87 in 2009)Must be purchased for a specific day.Can see multiple films on a given day, up to a maximum of 5 per day, from the first screening of the day until 11:59 PM.Cannot see Roy Thomson Hall or Visa Screening Room premium screenings.Must be redeemed in person on the day selected.

Film Selection Courier Service$150 (no change from 2009)Includes Advance Order Book, Official Film Schedule, and Programme Book couriered to you with pre-paid FedEx return.Must be ordered by August 20, 2010.For out-of-town festival-goers that cannot drop off their Advance Order Books in person.

Programme Book Delivery$100Includes Programme Book, Official Film Schedule, sent by FedEx.Sent on August 23, 2010 for delivery by 10:30 AM August 24, 2010 (not guaranteed for remote or rural locations).

TIFF Choice packages:

These packages all include a free voucher for one TIFF Bell Lightbox screening after the festival. TIFF Choice packages cannot participate in the Advance Order Procedure since films are pre-selected by festival programmers. You cannot exchange any of the tickets included in a TIFF Choice package.

Note a single purchaser can purchase a maximum of 4 packages bought from this group.

If you do buy multiple packages of the same type, note that the films included in each package may differ if you buy them at different times; e.g. if you buy two "The Canadian" packages, but two weeks apart, they may contain different films from one another.

The Canadian Pack$80 (new this year), no discount for students and seniors1 ticket to 5 different films by Canadian filmmakers.Films are guaranteed to begin on weekdays after 5:01 PM and/or anytime on weekends.

Midnight Madness Pack$156 (was $156.51 in 2009), $100 (no change from 2009) for students and seniors1 ticket to each of 10 films in the Midnight Madness programmeFilms are at 11:59 PM from September 9 to 18.

City-to-City Pack$156 (don't have the 2009 price), $100 for students and seniors1 ticket to each of 10 films in the City-to-City programme, centered around a single city (last year was Tel Aviv)

Wavelengths Pack$55 (was $55.40 in 2009), $47 (was $47.09 in 2009) for students and seniors1 ticket to each of 6 films in the Wavelengths programme

Globetrotter Pack Evening and Weekend$113 (was $112.53 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors6 films from around the world selected by TIFF programmersFilms are guaranteed to begin on weekdays after 5:01 PM and/or anytime on weekends.

Globetrotter Pack Daytime$99 (was $99.23 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors6 films from around the world selected by TIFF programmersFilms are guaranteed to begin between 8:30 AM and 5:01 PM, any day of the week.

Sample Pack Evening and Weekend$69 (was $68.54 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors3 films each from a different programmeFilms are guaranteed to begin on weekdays after 5:01 PM and/or anytime on weekends.

Sample Pack Daytime$63 (was $63.42 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors3 films each from a different programmeFilms are guaranteed to begin between 8:30 AM and 5:01 PM, any day of the week.

Visa Screening Room 3-Day Pack (Morning)$50 (no change from 2009), no discount for students and seniors3 morning screenings at the Visa Screening Room on Monday, September 13, Wednesday, September 15, and Friday, September 17.

Visa Screening Room 3-Day Pack (Afternoon)$50 (no change from 2009), no discount for students and seniors3 afternoon screenings at the Visa Screening Room on Monday, September 13, Wednesday, September 15, and Friday, September 17.

Visa Screening Room 2-Day Pack (Morning)$35 (no change from 2009), no discount for students and seniors2 morning screenings at the Visa Screening Room on Tuesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 16

Visa Screening Room 2-Day Pack (Afternoon)$35 (no change from 2009), no discount for students and seniors2 afternoon screenings at the Visa Screening Room on Tuesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 16

Visa Screening Room Evening 8-Pack (6:00 PM)$232 (was $350 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors8 screenings at 6:00 PM at the Visa Screening Room from Friday, September 10 to Friday, September 17

Visa Screening Room Evening 8-Pack (9:00 PM)$232 (was $350 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors8 screenings at 9:00 PM at the Visa Screening Room from Friday, September 10 to Friday, September 17

Visa Screening Room Weekend Evening 3-Pack (6:00 PM)$87 (new this year), no discount for students and seniors3 screenings at 6:00 PM at the Visa Screening Room from Friday, September 10 to Sunday, September 12As of 7:43 PM on July 5, 2010, this pack was sold out.

Visa Screening Room Weekday Evening 3-Pack (9:00 PM)$87 (new this year), no discount for students and seniors3 screenings at 9:00 PM at the Visa Screening Room from Monday, September 13 to Wednesday, September 15.As of 7:43 PM on July 5, 2010, this pack was sold out.

Double-Date Gala Pack$299 (was $299.04 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors4 premium tickets to each of two galas per-selected by the festival (for a total of 8 tickets).

Closing Night Film at Roy Thomson hall$180 (was $180.25 in 2009), no discount for students and seniors1 ticket to the Closing-Night Gala and cocktail reception on Saturday, September 18Only balcony seating guaranteed.

Additional Ticketing Information for all tickets and packages:

If you buy tickets in person, you will get vouchers immediately. If you buy online or by phone before August 16 (the festival site has a typo that also says August 6), vouchers will be mailed to you. If you buy after August 16 or are using a student/senior discount, you must pick up vouchers in person from the 2 Carlton box office prior to August 24, or the main festival box office starting August 24.

Tickets can be bought on the dates indicated at the start of this post at:

Not listed in the prices above are additional fees added at time of purchase, including:

Building Fund Fee$0.25 for purchases from $0.01 - $50.00$1.00 for purchases from $50.01 - $100.00$2.50 for purchases from $100.01 - $250.00$5.00 for purchases from $250.01 - $500.00$10.00 for purchases from $500.01 - $1000.00

Sunday, June 13, 2010

So, the 2010 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is approaching. This year, the festival will run from Thursday, September 9, 2010 to Sunday, September 19, 2010.

The festival will announce ticket packages on June 17, and as of July 5, Visa cardholders will be able to purchase ticket packages. On July 12, other forms of payment will be accepted (cash, debit; the festival does not accept any other credit card besides Visa).

The ticket packages that go on sale next month will allow you to either get tickets for films that will be pre-selected by festival staff, or that will allow you to participate in the Advance Order Procedure that occurs in August. Tickets for individual films will not be available until the August/September timeframe, after the schedule has been finalized and released, so if you only plan on seeing a few films, you can wait until then.

Generally speaking, you don't need to purchase ticket packages right away, unless you are specifically looking for the Visa Screening Room or Gala ticket packages, which tend to be very popular.